Eight Exeter boats traveled to Lake Quinsigamond today to race Andover, St. John’s, Simsbury, Brookline, and Northfield Mount Hermon in the season opener in Worcester, MA. The girls crews made a dramatic sweep of the competition: all four boats won by margins twelve seconds or greater. On the boys side, closely contested losses by the second, third, and fourth eights were followed by a strong first place finish by the boys first boat eight seconds ahead of Andover, the defending NEIRA champions. Full results:

G1		G2		G3		G4
Exeter	05:11.5	Exeter	05:28.4	Exeter	05:41.6	Exeter	06:05.0
Andover	05:24.5	Andover	05:40.4	Andover	05:55.0	Andover	06:46.7
Brookline	05:30.4	Brookline	05:48.1	Simsbury	06:06.2
Simsbury	05:36.6	Simsbury	05:52.1	Brookline	06:12.4
NMH	05:48.0	NMH	06:11.1
B1		B2		B3		B4
Exeter	04:30.6	Andover	04:38.7	Andover	04:51.0	St. John’s	05:31.3
Andover	04:38.0	Exeter	04:40.7	St. John’s	04:51.6	Exeter	05:34.9
NMH	04:53.9	St. John’s	04:45.6	Exeter	04:58.4	Andover	05:48.1
Simsbury	04:56.9	Simsbury	04:54.4	Simsbury	05:14.0
Brookline	04:57.5	Brookline	05:12.3
St. John’s	04:59.6	NMH	05:25.5

Conditions this afternoon at Quinsigamond were ideal: sunny skies, temperatures in the mid 70s, with only a slight breeze blowing off of the Shrewsbury (eastern) shore.

Girls co-captain Allison Courtin ’08 said “It’s great that everyone won. We didn’t really know what to expect since this was our first race of the season. We’ve been working really hard and we can see it’s started to pay off.” Looking ahead to the dual meet versus Kent School next weekend, Courtin said “We’re going to keep the same game plan, keep training through these races since each race is a way to see our improvement from week to week.”

Boys co-captain Tim Moore ’08 said “It’s a good start to the season. There’s a lot of new rowers and younger guys in the lower boats, and I’m confident that they’ll get some more speed as the season progresses.” Regarding the first boat’s win, “I’m really pleased with how we did. The boat was very relaxed and comfortable going down the racecourse. We had both the intensity and the form to move ahead of the field.” Looking to next weekend’s races against Kent, who beat Andover by 3.2 seconds two weeks ago, Moore said “We know it’s going to be a tough race–but races are always tough at this level. This week we’ll probably start bringing up the stroke rating a bit to do some more work on starts and sprints.” Moore also remarked that “These races are definitely a good way to see where we are, but of course we aren’t content with any win besides the last race in May.”

Crews will return to Quinsigamond next Saturday for a dual meet versus Kent School.

A full gallery of photos from all the races will be posted this week.

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Last Saturday, two eights from Belmont Hill School scrimmaged Exeter at home on the Squamscott River. Belmont Hill School, located just outside Boston in Belmont, MA, produces some of the fastest junior fours in the country, having won five straight N.E.I.R.A. Championship titles (2003-2007) and three Youth National Championship titles (2003, 2006, 2007) in the last five years.

Despite giving Belmont Hill school the inside of the turn each time, the Exeter boys first boat led Belmont Hill’s first eight for 6/8 of the 2.5 minute pieces. Co-captain Tim Moore ’08 said “We had some good strokes and some not-so-good strokes, so consistency is something we’ll definitely be working on. Either way, it’s really nice to race so early in the season so we can have something to build off of.” Moore also noted “We’ve gotten pretty comfortable taking strong strokes, though we need some more work on bladework and technique as well as more practice rowing at higher ratings.”

The Exeter boys second boat made great improvement during the scrimmage, winning two of the last three closely contested pieces after trailing for the first five. Stroke Andrew Weinstein ’09 said, “There were times the boat felt pretty good–but other times where we lost some speed.” Weinstein added, “Once our lineups are set we’ll definitely get faster as we practice together more.”

In the past few years, Exeter crews have scrimmaged Belmont Hill on the last day of the spring training week in March. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the crews were unable to race on the Charles this year.

Both boys varsity boats as well as boys JV, girls varsity and girls JV are preparing for their first races of the season on April 19th against Andover, St. John’s, NMH and a few other schools. Races will take place in the afternoon at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, MA. Stay tuned for updates as this date nears.

Race Photos

Braving wind, rain, snow, sleet, and cold, two eights from the boys and girls squads are spending five days of their spring break vacations training for the upcoming racing season. These practices on the Charles River in Boston are the first on-the-water strokes anyone has taken since the end of the fall season in October. They build on the indoor exercises, tank rowing, and erging done during the pre-season week before spring break while crews waited for the last few inches of ice to melt from the Squamscott River.

Due to an Academy regulation, the actual Exeter crew coaches are not allowed to attend spring training. Instead, Marshall Moore, former Exeter Girls Varsity coach and father of boys co-captain Tim Moore ’08, is coaching the two boys eights out of Newell Boathouse at Harvard. Julia Chilicki, former Olympian and member of the U.S. National Team and 1998 winner of the Championship Singles at the Head of the Charles, is coaching the two girls eights out of Weld Boathouse at Radcliffe.

On Wednesday, I had the luck of going in the launch with Coach Moore during a “wintry mix” of snow, sleet, and rain. Despite the wetness and 35° temperatures, the crew showed noticeable improvement over the practice while Coach Moore corrected their form and tinkered with lineups. Co-captain Tim Moore ’08 said that “people are definitely happy to be here. Without this week of training without schoolwork or other things to worry about, people return to campus mentally ready for crew.” Moore also thought that “all the boats boats have definitely improved in the the last couple days.” Check out the photo gallery here for all the photos from the boys practice on Wednesday.

Across the river at the girl’s practices, co-captain Allison Courtin ’08 said that she is very encouraged by the energy and focus shown by both boats. “People are really responsive to Coach Chilicki. It’s really good to have a different perspective about things each of us have to work on.” She added, “[Spring training] is a good way to get everyone going and row with all your friends without the pressure of impressing coaches or making a certain boat–I think it’s a great way to start the season.” When asked about the potential for a “three-peat” following two straight years of NEIRA Championships for the girl’s first eight, Courtin said “I definitely don’t want to jinx it…but I am cautiously optimistic that right now we are looking to be at least as fast as we were in the last two years.” Check out the photo gallery here for all the photos from the girls practice on Saturday.

All crews have four weeks until the first race on April 19th against Andover, St. John’s, and a few other schools at Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester, Massachusetts. Check back later for more information as this date nears.

Photos